Cessna 182 accident near Truckee, California, May 31, 1982
On May 31, 1982 at about 9:20 pm local time, a Cessna 182, registered N5056D, was destroyed in an accident near Truckee, California (Truckee-Tahoe airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 31, 1982 · about 9:20 pm local time · cases in 1982
- Place
- Truckee, California · Truckee-Tahoe · cases near this airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182 · all 182s on the register
- Registration
- N5056D · no longer on the register · serial 51156
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT HAD RETURNED TO THE AIRPORT AFTER A GLIDER TOWING OPERATION OF ABOUT 10 MINUTES. RUNWAY 19 WAS IN USE. REPORTEDLY, THE TERRAIN TO THE NORTH OF RUNWAY 19 WAS ABOUT 100 FT LOWER THAN THE AIRPORT ELEVATION. A WITNESS REPORTED THAT HE HEARD THE SOUND OF FULL POWER APPLICATION AND THEN OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT IN A STEEP CLIMB COMING BACK UP TO THE RUNWAY. THE AIRCRAFT WAS THEN OBSERVED TO TURN LEFT AND CRASH INTO TREES ON A STEEP SLOPE. THE MAGNETIC DIRECTION OF IMPACT WAS ABOUT 120 DEGREES. REPORTEDLY, THE PILOT HAD BEEN COUNSELED AFTER HIS PREVIOUS FLIGHT THAT HIS LANDING APPROACH WAS TOO LOW. THE DENSITY ALTITUDE WAS ABOUT 7100 FT.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 815 hours in all; 800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,813 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: O-470L 265 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TRR Truckee CA at 2:10 pm
- Destination: TRR Truckee CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19, 3,201 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 138°F (59°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N5056D the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N5056D: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Cessna 182 Skylane 11,834 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,676 aircraft on the register
- Engine: O-470L 265 · as the NTSB recorded it
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,080 since 1982 · 1,096 in the last ten years
- California 28,134 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N5056D 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX82FXQ09.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.